SITUATION IN CHECHNYAFOCUS OF HELSINKI COMMISSION HEARING

(Washington) - The United States Helsinki Commission will hold a hearing on the situation and future prospects in Russia's war-torn region of Chechnya, in anticipation of upcoming talks this month between President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Chechnya: Current Situation and Prospects for the FutureTuesday, September 16, 2003
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
334 Cannon House Office Building

The Russian Government has declared the "counterterrorism operation" in Chechnya over. But the conflict in the secessionist region continues to take its toll in combatant and non-combatant deaths and disappearances.

According to the State Department's Country Reports Human Rights Practices for 2002, "the indiscriminate use of force by government troops in the Chechen conflict has resulted in widespread civilian casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of persons, the majority of whom sought refuge in the neighboring republic of Ingushetiya."

The Russian Government continues to coerce many internally displaced persons to return to the war zone. Hundreds of Chechens have disappeared. According to the Moscow-based human rights organization, Memorial, in the first three months of this year, Russian federal forces abducted 119 people.

The United States Government has determined that some elements of the Chechen resistance are linked with international terrorism, while at the same time calling for accountability for human rights abuses committed by both sides.

Elections for President of Chechnya as part of the Russian Federation are scheduled for October 5, 2003.

An unofficial transcript will be available on the Helsinki Commission's Internet web site at http://www.csce.gov within 24 hours of the hearing.

The United States Helsinki Commission, an independent federal agency, by law monitors and encourages progress in implementing provisions of the Helsinki Accords. The Commission, created in 1976, is composed of nine Senators, nine Representatives and one official each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.